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Excavate   /ˈɛkskəvˌeɪt/   Listen
Excavate

verb
(past & past part. excavated; pres. part. excavating)
1.
Recover through digging.  Synonym: unearth.  "Excavate gold"
2.
Find by digging in the ground.  Synonyms: dig up, turn up.
3.
Form by hollowing.  "Excavate a cavity"
4.
Remove the inner part or the core of.  Synonyms: dig, hollow.






WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Excavate" Quotes from Famous Books



... that which flows by the city of Kinsay. And at the place where it quits the main channel is the city of Tingui, of which all that is to be said is that there they make porcelain basins and dishes. The manner of making porcelain was thus related to him. They excavate a certain kind of earth, as it were from a mine, and this they heap into great piles, and then leave it undisturbed and exposed to wind, rain, and sun for 30 or 40 years. In this space of time the earth becomes sufficiently refined for the manufacture of porcelain; ...
— The Travels of Marco Polo, Volume 2 • Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa

... work encounter every kind of risk and undergo every kind of hardship and exertion. Explorers and naturalists of the right type have open to them in South America a field of extraordinary attraction and difficulty. But to excavate ruins that have already long been known, to visit out-of-the-way towns that date from colonial days, to traverse old, even if uncomfortable, routes of travel, or to ascend or descend highway rivers like the Amazon, the Paraguay, and the lower Orinoco—all ...
— Through the Brazilian Wilderness • Theodore Roosevelt

... the parent May-fly drops into the water, a six-legged grub is very soon hatched. This grub proceeds forthwith to excavate for himself a home in the soft bank of the river, below the surface of the water, and there remains for two long years, feeding upon the decaying matters of the mould. During this aquatic residence, the little creature finds it necessary to breathe; and that he may do so comfortably, notwithstanding ...
— Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 437 - Volume 17, New Series, May 15, 1852 • Various

... shell, as it hesitated on the edge, and then the turtle commenced a clumsy scramble up the beach, lifting itself along in a laborious manner. In ten minutes it had reached the loose sand above tide-water, and kept its course toward us until within thirty feet, when it began to excavate its nest. The operation seemed to be performed mostly with the hind feet, and was accomplished in a remarkably short time, considering ...
— Lippincott's Magazine, October 1885 • Various

... the large stones and then dig a sort of trench to wherever the puppies are," and Rudolph was able of course to indicate the exact spot to which the trench must lead. It was the work of an hour to excavate the foundation-stones, and an additional half-hour to dig the trench. Meantime Betsy appeared upon the scene, and, evidently appreciating what was going on, stood about and superintended matters with quite an important air. Rudolph clambered in and dug the last few feet of ...
— Tattine • Ruth Ogden


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